Waking Up to Success

Let’s talk about your career for a moment.​It seems like the talk of the day is that you have to LOVE your career. But I don’t think that’s true.

Let’s say there are 2 types of people: People who work for the money, and people who work for the mission. The problem is that too many people didn’t make a choice – they chose a job based on what was conveniently available at the time, and now they’re working themselves to the bone on a pathway that isn’t particularly fulfilling for them

When I left my engineering career to be a leadership facilitator, many people commented on how great it was that I was following my passion. They could tell I really wanted to make a difference. And it’s true: I feel lucky to have a found a role for myself where I get to make an impact on how people think and live. Over the years, I’ve met many others who have aligned their career to what they care about most, and many of these people have become good friends!

But I ALSO have good friends who are living fantastic lives with careers that simply aren’t their passions. They’re skilled, they work hard, and they do a good job, but it’s just not what turns their crank. If you ask about their jobs, they shrug off the conversation and move on to other topics. Instead, they’ll tell you about their outside projects – the concert series they run, the community sports they play, or the book club they’re part of. Some will talk about their volunteer work with service clubs. Still others talk about their family lives.These people see their job as a paycheque. They work for the money in order to support their passions.

​You probably spend about half of your waking hours at your job. As of 2016, according to one study, about 50% of people are satisfied with their current job, and this is an all-time high! By my math, that still leaves 50% of people who aren’t satisfied. Are you one of them? Either way, seems like there’s room for collective improvement.

​​Maybe we’d do well to understand that there are benefits and drawbacks to either path.​

For the people who are working for the paycheque, they not only earn a living enough to survive, but they often make more than enough, so they can spend their excess income on whatever they like to make a difference in the world. They can donate it, or invest it (which empowers others who have ideas and ambition), or buy things that further their wellbeing and the wellbeing of others. These are all great advantages. They can also happily leave work and forget about their jobs, leaving behind the daily grind for their well-earned time off.

The disadvantages, of course, are that working only for the paycheque can be boring, and a fast track to burnout if you have to constantly do stuff that you don’t believe in. Plus, half your waking life is used up doing something you don’t much care about.

While still the minority, there is a growing demographic who are searching for meaningful work that not only provides a paycheque, but also contributes to something bigger than oneself – a movement they can get behind. Following this path certainly has its advantages: It’s indeed more meaningful, more motivating, and more intrinsically rewarding. You’ll probably get to work with other passionate, like-minded people. Plus, you’ll probably do a better job if you’re more invested in the work.

What about the disadvantages? Working for the mission may lower your earning potential. Many not-for-profit jobs can’t compete with the salaries of the for-profit companies. Lower income can put a strain on family life, and it can be discouraging not to have extra money to donate to causes you care about. But even if you ARE making a good salary, you may still find it difficult to separate your job from the other parts of your life, which can be tiring. When you’re truly passionate about the impact of your work, it takes a lot of discipline to turn off the passion and take a rest.

So what’s your situation? Are you working for the money or for the mission? When we make a conscious choice, rather than living by default, we set ourselves up to be happier in two ways:

We get to take ownership of all the benefits of the path we choose! If we love the money, we can make it and spend it with pride in a way that’s right for us! If we love the mission, then we can feel proud of the impact we make each day with how we spend our time and energy.

We get to make peace with all the things we give up by pursuing our chosen path. Once we accept our reality, we can re-align our expectations and give up our needless wanting. A great deal of pain comes from the wanting of that which is unattainable.

​I believe most people genuinely care about how they spend their time. I even think most people want to make a positive difference in the world – whether that is raising a family or changing a policy or solving a problem or serving on a community group or enjoying shared time with their friends.

Your career takes up a lot of your time. So today, try asking yourself this: “How does my career make my life better? Am I working for the money or for the mission?” Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

I guess you could say I'm one of those who works for the mission because I believe that no matter what we do for a living we have to at least like it. Personally I look for work that gives a person meaning, and that it's more than just a job. Yes I need money, but I also need a fulfilling reason to want to get out of bed in the morning. Others are made for the nine to five monotany of repeated tasks, and we need those people too, but even then they should be able to honestly like their jobs. We seem to live in a socity that almost forces the majority to take up jobs only to make the money to pay the bills, and one often feels like you don't dare mention how you really feel about the job because you have to have money. Bottom line is our society is more survival of the fittest and less dream fulfilling. That's why I'm about the mission, I'm trying to break this robotic mindset society hands us (or rather hands me). My apologies if this all sounds harsh, I still appreciate your emails and positive help Joel. Thanks for allowing me to blab on.

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Joel Hilchey

3/15/2018 10:47:16 am

Thanks so much for your thoughts Amy! For me, it's not that there's a right or wrong way of doing things, it's about being intentional about which way we choose. It sounds like you've been doing a lot of thinking about how you want to live your life - well done!

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Hi, I'm Joel. I help people figure out what "success" means to them, and then help them achieve it.